Every few months, consumers hit the streets with the latest, fastest, smartest, and slickest gadgets in their pockets. But what happens when those shiny new toys go out of style? Some end up in "e-waste" dumps like this one, in Qingyuan, China.

In 2014, the world generated 41.8 million metric tons of e-waste, or electronic goods discarded by their owners without intent to reuse. It is believed that less than one-sixth of the e-waste was properly recycled.

In some countries, legislation requires major corporations to collect, recycle, and dispose of e-waste in an environmentally responsible way. But these processes can be expensive.

Many companies opt to cheaply (and illegally) export their e-waste to developing countries with less stringent laws, where “modern slaves” deal with the abandoned goods. Dumps form, contaminating the earth with toxic substances such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and flame retardants.

In Agbogbloshie, Ghana — a former wetland turned toxic graveyard of computers, smartphones, and wires — young men make a living of about $2.50 a day, sorting through the rubbish with their bare hands. Each piece has a value derived from the materials it was built with.

Heaps of e-waste are set on fire or doused with chemical solvents, in order to burn off the rubber and plastic so workers can harvest the valuable materials inside. Televisions and PCs are cracked open with rocks and tools for their copper, which may pay for food.

Health concerns are dire. Breathing in toxic fumes day after day, many workers reportedly die of cancer and other illnesses by the time they're 20 years old.

In Guiyu, China, some 80,000 of 130,000 residents work in the dumps, according to a 2012 local government estimate. Metal contamination has turned the air and water toxic, and many locals suffer substantial digestive, neurological, respiratory, and bone problems.

The e-waste hubs vary in size and work force. This Qingyuan, China-based company has been extracting metals from e-waste for more than 10 years.

In the same region, a family-run operation focuses on stripping refrigeration systems and high-voltage electricity cables. Workers are paid according to the weight of recycled materials they handled in a day.

“[They] are guilty from the moment they design their products to last less and less, for obvious commercial reasons,” Bellini says ...

"They are guilty because they use materials and highly toxic substances in their products, despite [the fact that] today’s technology allows for substitution with less hazardous or even harmless materials."